UnKnown(PUBLISHED)

Five

"Hello-... Arianna!?"

"Maple!?" I exclaimed, relaxing a bit as I hugged the girl. She hugged me back, rocking us back and forth before pulling away. I stepped back, examining my childhood friend. Her hair was no longer the original blonde. It was now a fiery shade of red, her hair pulled up into a messy bun that fit her so well, but I can imagine how long her hair must have gotten. Maple was always obsessed over her hair, saying that she wanted to grow her hair out long when she grew up. Her eyes stood out even more now that she had red hair. Her eyes were blue like the ocean, shimmering and crashing beneath the sunset.

"I thought you were a new neighbor! We have not had any neighbors live in your house." Maple smiled; her smile was brighter than the sun beaming down on her. I motioned her inside, closing the door before entering the living room. We all sat on the couch, Rylan sitting beside me as Maple sat before me.

"No wonder this house looks so brand new." I glanced around the house once more. Maple nodded her head, leaning forward as her eyes twinkled.

"So, what have you been up to? You can't be graduating already!? Also, who's this?" Questions spilled out of her one by one. My eyes widened as I stared at her, listening to all the questions before holding my hand up. Maple stopped talking, tilting her head to the side. If her hair were not in a bun, it would have spilled down her shoulders.

"No, I'm not graduating, but I'm kind of... on a mission. You can say, " I'm taking a break and came down here." I answered as best as I could. I did not want to drag Maple into my problems, nor tried to tell her what was going on.

"I'm Rylan, nice to meet you." Rylan introduced, holding out his hand. Maple took his hand, shaking it as she grinned a little. She then hopped over, wrapping a hand around my arm as she tugged me close.

"He's cute. You DO have a nice taste, Ari." Her lips brushed against my ear a bit as she whispered. I puffed my cheeks out, rolling my eyes as I pushed myself away from her. Maple giggled, the sound causing me to feel as if nothing would go wrong now.

"How's your family?" I asked, changing the subject. I knew Maple would not forget anything I said, nor would her curiosity fade. Sooner or later, she would discover the truth if I was not careful.

"My family is good. They've missed you as well, wondering how you were doing, but considering there was no way for me to contact you since we barely got a goodbye, there was nothing we could do to find out. Though my little brother keeps getting ear infections and having to go to the hospital to flush his ears out." Maple answered, going on and on. 

"I've only had an ear infection once, and after that, I cleaned my ears almost every day. In the morning and before I went to bed." Rylan chuckled, shaking his head.

"Oh! The forest that we always played in.. do you remember? It hasn't changed much other than it getting a bit old, but our spot is still our spot." Maple placed her hand over mine, her eyes shining with delight.

"The forest?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. I knew a forest was behind this house, but I do not remember ever going there in childhood to hang out. Even with maple. Are my memories that badly erased?

Maple nodded her head. "I'm surprised you don't remember. Almost every day, you wanted to hang out in that forest pretending to be so many creatures. We should check it  out!" She stood up, tugging me off of the couch.

"Woah woah.. We should check it out tomorrow. It's getting dark, and it looks like it's also about to rain." Rylan intervened, jumping off of the couch as he pointed. We glanced out the window to see everything turning gloomy; the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, and the clouds were dark and heavy.

"You're right... Could I stay here for tonight and go home in the morning? I can call my mother and tell her. We could check out the forest later on tomorrow." Maple was still holding onto my hand as she spoke. There was nothing else that Rylan and I were going to check -it was clear on our faces that we were exhausted- so I nodded.

   Luckily, she did not suspect anything weird or strange, but the forest was another clue that Rylan and I could check out. Once she left... if she left...

I stared up at the ceiling, listening to my heartbeat. Ba-dom... ba-dom.... Ba-dom... ba-dom...  I tried to sleep, turning over to my side, but my eyes stayed open. Darkness was the only thing I could see, and the clouds crying were the only sound to soothe me. A knock on the door interrupted any thoughts in my head. I sat up just as Rylan walked in, flicking on the light. I almost thought it was Maple trying to have a conversation again. As much as I have missed her, I needed time alone.

"Can't sleep?" Rylan grinned, causing me to smile as well. He tiptoed over, the bed sinking as he got on the bed. I scooted over to him, lifting the covers as he crawled halfway in.

"I forgot about any childhood friends or people I knew... if more people noticed us, it would be hard to 'play' the game, and lying is not going to help all the time," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. Rylan had showered, the smell of shampoo and whatever lotion he used soothing me more than the rain outside. I closed my eyes for a brief second, taking in the scent.

"I'm sure the clues are inside this house... And the forest so no one would see us too much.." Rylan placed his head on top of mine, shifting just a bit to get comfortable.

"But what if Maple says something? I'm sure now that I'm back, she will want to stick around." I looked up at him.

"We'll figure out something, don't worry. At least Maple mentioned the forest, so that's another step."

I nodded my head before lying down, now feeling sleepy. Rylan pushed my hair back, tucking strands of it behind my ear. "Can I braid your hair?" He asked, rubbing his head as he cleared his throat. I giggled at how shy he was and nodded, sitting up. Rylan got behind me and gathered my hair into his hands as he braided it.

"Where'd you learn to braid?" I asked, considering that he had no sisters.

"Mom... taught me how to braid because when I was a little kid, I always played with her hair."

After Rylan braided my hair, we lay on the bed, silence sweeping over us. I did not mind Rylan laying beside me; it was better than being alone. I scooted closer, pressing my face into his chest and inhaling his scent.